Page:The Evolution of British Cattle.djvu/40

 sources, McKenny Hughes came to the conclusion that the race which the Romans were most likely to have introduced to Britain was the large white race which, in ancient as in modern times, stretched eastwards and southwards into Asia and Egypt.

Could any resemblances be traced between the old white cattle of Southern Europe and those whose bones lay in the Roman rubbish heaps of Britain? And were their presumable descendants in any way alike? The first link was found in the fact that, while the horns of Bos longifrons curved forward and inward, the horns of the old southern cattle curved decidedly upward. So also, as shown by their cores, did the horns of the new breed that came into Britain with the Romans. Another link was found in the length and shape of the horns. The horns of the old southern cattle not only turned upward, but were lyre-shaped, with a peculiar final bend, and many of them were of extraordinary length. The same characteristics are found not only among modern breeds of this South European race, but also among English breeds descended certainly from cattle brought into the country within historical time, and, presumably, from those brought in by the Romans. The accompanying illustrations will make this point clear.

Another link was found in the fact that